Okame

Pisces Horoscope, Nov 4, 2011
“You have something in common with the Japanese
goddess Okame. When the sun went into hiding
and the world went dark, it was Okame’s wild
dance that brought back the light. Your
exuberance will save the day.”
+++— astrologer Holiday Mathis

*

The question that long gripped
My cranium like a shining scarab
Is answered: Okame is my muse.

Once I thought my muse was a moth
Flailing against the stained glass
Of a church. Another time I was sure

It was a yellow leaf in the wind.
But no, it’s Okame, who charmed
The sun with her bare shoulders

And dance that shimmered
Beneath a gossamer gown
Of woven cherry blossoms.

O Okame—I will lacerate my chest
With a tattoo of your smiling face
So the lavender ink of your lips

Seeps into my blood bringing a gift
Only a goddess can give—
The complete disrobing of my heart.

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Previously published in Chanterelle’s Notebook, Issue #26, January 2012

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Dennis Trujillo from Pueblo, Colorado, is a former US Army soldier and middle/high school math teacher who happens to love poetry. He now resides in Korea and is employed at Shinhan University in the city of Dongducheon. He runs and does yoga each morning for grounding and focus and for the sheer joy of it.